Along the Great Miami Riverway’s 99-mile stretch you’ll find everything from nature activities and fitness excursions to historical landmarks and places to eat. In addition to showcasing the region’s natural beauty and charming river towns, the Great Miami Riverway has dozens of, well, quirkier spots to visit. Like these 10 Great Miami Riverway oddities:
Visit antiquities and outdoor sculptures at Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park
Photograph courtesy Great Miami Riverway
Location: Hamilton
With a collection of more than 70 outdoor sculptures across 470 acres and an indoor gallery filled with ancient objects from Egypt, Rome, and Greece, Pyramid Hill is worth a visit. Check out the self-guided Soundscapes immersive audio experience. Four areas of the grounds get unique soundscapes created by local artists. Or reserve an Art Cart and tour the grounds on your own golf cart.
Stop at The Silos
Photograph courtesy Great Miami Riverway
Location: Dayton
This food hall and beer garden turned an old industrial relic into a modern landmark in downtown Dayton. Recalling large-scale urban revitalization projects in Detroit and Chicago, and Toledo’s vibrant silo murals, colorful cacti make The Silos stand out. Four food and drink vendors in the box-park-style setting make this a fun stopping point near the river.
Take the family camping…On water!
Photograph courtesy Great Miami Riverway
Location: Troy
Sleep in a floating tent on the river? Yes, you read that correctly—floating tents on the river! The only public floating tents in Ohio are located at Treasure Island Park in Troy. Take a raft out to the anchored and inflated tents to bring your camping trip to a whole new level.
Try urban surfing
Photograph courtesy Great Miami Riverway
Location: Dayton
You don’t have to travel to the beach to surf. It’s right here in Ohio! The engineered whitewater river feature in downtown Dayton is the perfect spot to kayak, stand-up paddleboard, and even surf on the waves year-round.
Learn about Piqua’s atomic history
Photograph courtesy Great Miami Riverway
Location: Piqua
You might not guess that Piqua has a connection to the Atomic Age. But it does! The Piqua Nuclear Power Facility, now decommissioned, was once a nuclear reactor site. Operational in the 1960s, it was the first municipally-operated nuclear power plant in the world. It set the stage for small-scale atomic energy efforts nationwide. Today, you can drive by where the structure still stands.
Keep an eye out for river otters
Photograph courtesy Great Miami Riverway
Location: Along The Great Miami River
After a century-long absence due to pollution and habitat loss, otters have made a comeback in the Great Miami River. First confirmed sightings began in the 2010s, marking the species’s return thanks to the river’s dramatic improvement in water quality. Fun fact: Otters only thrive in clean, healthy ecosystems.
Travel the ancient Native American highway
Photograph by Matt Bayman
Location: Sidney to Piqua
The Great Miami River served as a transportation route for thousands of years. In the 1920s, excavators discovered Native American flint artifacts inside a limestone cavern along the route, making it one of the only Ohio caves where such artifacts have been found. Today, paddlers can take the six-hour kayak route from Sidney to Piqua used by indigenous peoples.
See where the Wright Brothers tested and flew seaplanes
Photograph courtesy Great Miami Riverway
Location: West Carrollton
Orville Wright conducted early seaplane tests on the Great Miami River from 1912 to 1914. It’s one of the few places in the world where the Wrights flew directly from a river. A sign along the riverbank commemorates this historic part of aviation history. For history buffs, it’s worth a stop on your self-guided history tour.
Get a bite to eat at the legendary Hamburger Wagon
Photograph courtesy Great Miami Riverway
Location: Miamisburg
The Hamburger Wagon has been serving burgers since 1913 when the Great Flood devastated the region. Sherman “Cocky” Porter served burgers to flood victims and relief workers from a tent set up by the Red Cross. The burgers quickly became a local favorite and the Wagon has been serving its famous burgers ever since.
See the historic Big Four Bridge
Photograph courtesy Great Miami Riverway
Location: Sidney
Built in 1924 to reroute train tracks south of Sidney, the Big Four Bridge is less a Great Miami Riverway oddity than it is an engineering masterpiece. The bridge’s 28,000 cubic yards of concrete and 900,000 pounds of steel span the Great Miami River. Its construction came at a high cost, with multiple fatal accidents and an unsolved dynamite attack. Today, the bridge still stands and you can drive under its massive structure.
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